The Basic Tenets of Fundraising, by David Sacks

In this exclusive talk from the June 2011 San Francisco Founder Institute, Founder Showcase Keynote Speaker David Sacks, Founder and CEO of Yammer, covers the basics of fundraising and offers founders tips on how to engage investors. As one of today's most accomplished entrepreneurs, David believes that securing money isn’t your biggest problem – it is finding a great idea.

To hear more from David, join us and over 600 international investors and press at next week's Founder Showcase. Less than 100 tickets remain – purchase yours today.

In addition to securing a solid idea, Sacks explains that VCs encounter hundreds - even thousands - of pitches a year, so it’s crucial to make a lasting impression. To do this, your pitch needs to be concise, descriptive, and provocative enough to entice curiosity.

David has been involved in the Internet space for 10 years as an entrepreneur, executive and investor, starting with PayPal in 1999. He was PayPal's COO and product leader, taking the company from startup to IPO and eventual sale to eBay for $1.5 billion. Subsequently, he founded Geni.com, a genealogy website that enables millions of family members to collaboratively build an online family tree. He also produced and financed the movie "Thank You For Smoking." David recently sold Yammer, the category leading social network for the enterprise, to Microsoft for $1.2 billion.

We hope you enjoy the video below, and you can follow David on Twitter @davidsacks.

Get your tickets now for the 12th Founder Showcase, taking place on Wednesday, November 7th in San Francisco.